[Photo] First of 2013 Casascius Silver Coins Now Available For Sale

[casascius]

It looks as though my post has helped prompt others to request authentication from me.  Bring 'em on.

When you request authentication, please let me know what you want it to say.  Some people want minimal info, others want more.  Here is a template of what I might write for you - in fact, if you modify it and send me what you'd like it to say, that makes my job easy and gets you closest to what you're after.  Please identify your order (by order number, or email address).  Also if you have one handy, please include the 8-character prefix of any of the coins in the order (helps me search in case I have trouble finding it).

---template language below

November 9, 2013

To whom it may concern,

According to my records, I sold the following coins to John Doe on or about January 111, 2013,
and shipped them to an address in Anytown, MA 01234.

1aaaaaaaaa: 1
1bbbbbbbbb: 1
(don't worry about providing the addresses - chances are pretty good I can do this on my own if I can find your order)

(any other details you consider relevant, please add them... examples include: any additional info about your
identity, address, pgp key, forum handle, and any unusual or custom details regarding your order that you would
like memorialized).  I will likely reword the details so as to clarify I'm not claiming them as first-hand knowledge.

Sincerely,

Mike Caldwell

---

it's normal for me to take a couple of days to turn these around, as I have plenty of things going on.

[1715021141]

1715021141

[1715021141]

1715021141

[1715021141]

1715021141

[klondike_bar]

What a great type of packaging/carrier! how secure are the coins (ie: to prevent them rotating or shifting against the plastic)?

[casascius]

Mine broke in the mail despite good packaging. Coins were fine.

Was it the clam or the black end rings that broke?  I've dropped a couple of those long ago and the rings are fragile (but the coins seemingly stay safe).

While those are neat cases, those aren't the ones I actually meant to ship in, and usually don't use them.  Those are actually the shells the original 10BTC coins came to me in from the mint.  Since I never sold 10's by the roll, I had them spare and lying around, improvising when the first batch of gold-plated 1's came back without the containers.  These air-tite 20 clams look sweet but hearing they're prone to breakage, I'll just use the other square ones (and have resumed doing so for a while).

[casascius]

What a great type of packaging/carrier! how secure are the coins (ie: to prevent them rotating or shifting against the plastic)?

That little strip of foam in there does a pretty good job of preventing rotation and keeping the coins from too much movement, but are probably better suited for storage than shipping.

[casascius]

WHile I"m at it...I'm almost out of these gold ones...I only made 700 and nearly all of them are sold.  Actually, just to be clear, once I run out, that puts me out of all editions of Casascius 1-ounce silver coins thru 2013.  Not making any more of these for this year.  I've left open the option to buy 1 of them on my website (effectively eliminating the bulk roll pricing) and they'll be up till they're gone.

[chrisrico]

Hey Mike, can you give us more information about this from your site?

Nov 27, 2013: For the time being, I have suspended accepting new orders, pending resolution of some concerns I have as to regulatory issues. I am anticipating a possibility of having to prequalify buyers, and am holding off taking orders until I know for sure.

Can you tell us what specific regulatory issues concern you? Normal AML stuff or something else?

[casascius]

FinCEN has reached out to me to say they believe I am a money transmitter (hence subject to KYC) despite my belief otherwise. I have a good legal team advising me and working to get to the bottom of the difference, meanwhile, doing this is prudent.

[saveawedge]

Just wondering if pending orders will still be shipped?
Thanks

[casascius]

Just wondering if pending orders will still be shipped?
Thanks

Yes, no problem on any orders I have accepted thus far.

[2weiX]

FinCEN has reached out to me to say they believe I am a money transmitter (hence subject to KYC) despite my belief otherwise. I have a good legal team advising me and working to get to the bottom of the difference, meanwhile, doing this is prudent.

dafuq.

[ixne]

FinCEN has reached out to me to say they believe I am a money transmitter (hence subject to KYC) despite my belief otherwise. I have a good legal team advising me and working to get to the bottom of the difference, meanwhile, doing this is prudent.

I am genuinely sorry, although I'm sure you're prepared. You've also got truth and logic on your side, although certain government agencies are highly resistant to both.

If you find yourself in need of a legal fund, I'm sure you'd find a lot of support on this forum.

[casascius]

As for a legal fund, the well-deserved thanks can go to those who have bought my coins.  I believe I am decently equipped to engage in a constructive effort.

[ixne]

Hi Mike,

As of today, a full three months has passed since you made the offer to provide signed docs. I'd like to ask again if there's any update on this.

I paid you 55 BTC for two rolls of coins back in July. That was close to six thousand dollars at the time of purchase, or over sixteen thousand dollars at today's exchange rate. I'm not asking for a lot here, and given the fact that I've personally enriched you to the tune of several thousand dollars, I'm both upset and amazed that I've had to pester you so many times already to do this.

You've lost me as a paying customer; this can only be described as a complete failure of customer service. Hopefully I'm the exception and others have gotten better treatment so far.

Perhaps you could take some time out of your day to either provide me with the promised documents, or at least give me a definite time frame in which they'll be delivered? I can provide you with my PGP fingerprint via email or PM.

Seriously, the entitlement that you exhibit amazes me. You act as if you were doing Mike a favor buying his product and now he owes you something. He has graciously offered to provide proof of purchase without compensation and you chastise him like he's your house butler. Well m'lord, I wouldn't blame him if he scrapped the whole thing out of frustration or added a fee - this kind of bookwork does take time out of his day, after all.

I can only imagine his relief that you will no longer be dealing with him, as people like you probably monopolize a disproportionate amount of time compared to most customers.  Of course, Mike's famous courtesy in the face of boorishness comes through as always. Luckily, my disposition is nowhere near as sterling: You, sir, are a cad.

[casascius]

Seriously, the entitlement...

Dude, he is cool, he was frustrated, understandably so. His concern was resolved and he acknowledges as much. I would be aggravated if I thought someone was taking 3 months to do something I felt should be done much sooner.  This happens to all of us.

[ixne]

Dude, he is cool...

Fair enough. Just that line about "personally enriching" you sent me off. Apologies...

[nubbins]

...personally enriched...

Seriously, the entitlement...

Dude, he is cool...

Fair enough. Just that line about "personally enriching" you sent me off. Apologies...

Just wanted to take a moment to clear the air before I stop cluttering up this thread (and before more people start thinking I'm a boorish cad).

• Mike has delivered above and beyond on his promise to provide signed documents, as he in fact followed up with a second set of signed documents after another method of digital signing was made available to him. This was mentioned in another thread, but not here, and I apologize for not following up here after my issue was resolved.
• I really do like my coins, they're beautiful and I don't regret buying them.
• I paid a premium (above the btc+silver cost) of roughly $70 per coin. Sure, minting coins isn't free, but even at a $20 per coin minting fee (this is crazy), that's a $50 profit per coin. That equals $1600 or 16 BTC at the time of purchase. I can't imagine that Mike cashes out all of these profits to USD. I apologize if my choice of words offended you, but I was simply calling a spade a spade. I was entitled to precisely what was offered, which was a set of documents.
• This bears repeating -- I don't begrudge Mike the premium he charged on his coins. I really do like my coins, they're beautiful and I don't regret buying them.
• Apology accepted, if indeed it was directed towards me.

As for a legal fund, the well-deserved thanks can go to those who have bought my coins.  I believe I am decently equipped to engage in a constructive effort.

In retrospect, I suppose I was personally enriching his *legal fund* to the tune of several thousand dollars.

I, like many others, will be eagerly awaiting news of developments in this witch-hunt, and sincerely hope that Mike gets through this intact.

[OgNasty]

CASASCIUS

Calling A Spade A Spade Cuz I Understand Shit (since I don't actually know what the "cius" stands for).

 

Good luck on your legal fight, friend.

[chrisrico]

CASASCIUS

Calling A Spade A Spade Cuz I Understand Shit (since I don't actually know what the "cius" stands for).

 

Good luck on your legal fight, friend.

From what I remember Mike saying at the conference, cius = "cool sounding latin suffix".

[klondike_bar]

I am curious what some opinions are, regarding 'new'/'mint' condition coins and keeping them that way.

Casascius ships in a nice hard plastic coinholder, vacuum sealed in plastic with a tag identifying the lot/roll #. I am cautious to cut open this plastic, as part of me beleives that an unopened roll of coins could hold more collectors value than the 20 beautiful coins in individual cases might. Is this reasonable, or would it make more sense to 'handle' the coins and transfer them to individual airtites?

Counter-point: in a brand-new sealed roll, the coin condition is unknown. I have full faith in Mike, but there is a small chance a coin is terribly deformed within the roll unbeknownst to the buyer or collector. By moving the coins to individual holders, each coin can be viewed or graded.

Any thoughts? Part of me beleives that the coins could fetch more attention or value individually (or as a set of 20 individually sealed coins), while the other half thinks that the original packaging could add significant value, as there are likely very few rolls still sealed in the original vacuum bag.

ps: i assume it may not be hard for someone to find the same style of vacuum-packaging and mimic this, unless there is something unique to Mike's methodology?
pps: to handle, gloves would of course be used.

Would love opinions from anyone who has dealt with these coins or has experience in numismatics collecting.

[molecular]

FinCEN has reached out to me to say they believe I am a money transmitter (hence subject to KYC) despite my belief otherwise. I have a good legal team advising me and working to get to the bottom of the difference, meanwhile, doing this is prudent.

Can you please not give my identity to the fincen or anyone else for that matter?